It’s now $120.03 Jamaican to US$1

More funds flowed into the foreign exchange market on Friday but that did prevent the Jamaican dollar from losing value against the US, with the latest selling rate for the US dollar officially crossing the new landmark of $120, for the first time. The local currency made modest gains on the pound but slipped against the Canadian dollar.
The decline in the local currency which started in earnest in the mid to late 1970s and worsened in the 1990s, is coming from 77 US cents for j$1, back in late 1960s and has lost value as governments pursued ruinous economic and social policies, that led to high inflation, high interest rates, a mostly overvalued currency, flight of capital and closure of once viable enterprises. The poor policy decisions also led to a major collapse of the financial sector in the mid to late 1990s that ultimately heaped hundred of billions of dollars of debt on the country.
Funds purchased by dealers exceeded the amounts sold by $6 million. The equivalent of US$38,210,272 was purchased and the equivalent of US$32,468,928 was sold, compared with US$29,610,178 they purchased and US$30,889,097 sold on Thursday.
In US dollar trading , dealers bought US$34,482,286 compared to US$26,774,865 on Thursday. The buying rate for the US dollar gained 18 cents to $119.50 and US$30,528,147 was sold versus US$29,627,807 on Thursday, the selling rate rose 4 cents to $120.03, The Canadian dollar buying rate fell 4 cents to end at $86.96 with dealers buying C$1,284,103 and selling C$857,019, at an average rate that rose 35 cents to $89.24. The rate for buying the British Pound climbed 98 cents to $177.77 for the purchase of £1,076,624, while £679,010 was sold, with the rate falling 2 cents to $179.32. At the end of trading, it took J$130.21 to purchase the Euro, a big jump of $3.37 from Thursday’s rate, according to data from Bank of Jamaica, while dealers purchased the European common currency at J$127.54 for a rise of $3.33 from Thursday’s rate. The US dollar equivalent of other currencies traded, amounts to US$439,193 being bought, while US$289,232 was sold.
Highs & Lows| The highest buying rate for the US dollar on Friday, gained 10 cents to $120.30 while the lowest buying, the highest and the lowest selling rates were unchanged at $98.66, $126.42 and $117 respectively. The highest buying rate for the Canadian dollar dropped $3.20 to end at $89.80, the lowest buying rate climbed 41 cents to $71.38, the highest selling rate fell $1 to $93 and the lowest selling rate remained at $85. The highest buying rate for the British Pound, fell 50 cents to end at $181. The lowest buying rate gained 42 cents to $144.84, while the highest selling rate fell $1.19 to $184.99 and the lowest selling rate rose by 50 cents to $173.50.